-God of Gamblers is a sentimental favorite for people who saw it when it first came out. Personally, I wouldn't include it in my top 500 films from HK, but it was huge in the 80's (throughout all of South East Asia) and the 5000 bad gambling films that came after owe it to this film.

You're probably right about nostalgia and reputation but as a film it's not even as good as Challenge of the Gamesters.

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It wasn't in my top 10, but I did vote for An Autumn's Tale in my top 20. In portraying the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States, it hits all the right cylinders. The camera work is also beautiful, especially during the wide, long shots of New York's Chinatown circa the 1980's. Chow Yun Fat and Cherie Chung are also in top form; the only two other of their works together I rate are Wild Search and the Story of Woo Viet: The Story of Woo Viet just barely missed making my list, and Wild Search made it higher on my list. Also, it's a good HK production filmed in the US. That is a feat in itself.

I haven't seen the film in years, but checking my notes I was really tough on it. I think my expectations were set high; no wonder when it received (and continues to receive) so much praise. I found it utterly ordinary, apart from the NYC setting, with dull, aloof characters. Did I care if Chow and Cherie got it on? Nope. Wild Search (a personal fave) and The Story of Woo Viet are much better.